Grammar Guide: Noun Clauses with That and If

After the Civil War in early American history, women and children from the South decorated their towns with flags to honor the men and boys who died in the war. Today, Memorial Day is still celebrated to honor those who have fought and died in the US military defending their country. Memorial Day is considered a federal holiday in the United States, meaning that public offices and institutions are closed. The following picture depicts a gravestone in Arlington National Cemetery honoring the "unknown soldiers," or any soldier who has served the United States.

Noun Clauses Beginning with That
Noun clauses can begin with a variety of words. Two other common words, in addition to question words, are that and if.

• Soldiers promise that they will protect their country.
• These soldiers do not know if they will survive.
• After the Civil War, the women and children agreed that the soldiers needed to be remembered.
• I do not know if the soldiers realize how much we appreciate them.
• We believe that Memorial Day is an important holiday. 

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Student Spotlight: Aldo Andrés Quelopana Retamal

Aldo Andrés Quelopana Retamal is from Antofagasta, Chile. He has been studying at Nomen Global since the end of March and will continue to study here until the end of July. Aldo already has a firm grasp of the English language; however, he wants to continually improve his English so that he can achieve proficient scores on the TOEFL and GMAT. His goal is to attend the MBA program (Master of Business Administration) at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. After Aldo finishes at Nomen Global, he will return to Chile to work until he is accepted to his program. He hopes to return to Provo with his whole family while he is working toward his MBA.

Aldo is familiar with difficult tests. In Chile, passing a group of exams called the PAA is the only way to enter the most prestigious universities. The PAA assesses language, history, math, biology, and other subjects. Aldo took these exams and not only scored very well on all sections of the exam, but he scored the second highest in all of Chile in the math portion! Way to go, Aldo! That was a great success, and we know you will do well in the future!

In his free time (especially in the US), Aldo watches TV and plays video games. He also plays basketball every Thursday with members from his church. He is also very service-oriented. Aldo hopes to find ways to serve in his church while he is still living in Provo. Also also loves all types of pasta! His mother even says of him, "You should have been born in Italy!"

Among Aldo's educational goals, he also has goals to have five children (right now he has two) and serve a church service mission with his wife in the future. He believes that his religion (the LDS Church) is the most important thing to him.

Meet Aldo and other hardworking students like him at Nomen Global!

Karaoke in the Hall

A popular activity for college-aged students in Provo is karaoke. Many local restaurants and clubs have karaoke nights for aspiring rock stars to show off their skills. Nomen Global decided to host a karaoke party in the middle of the school day to introduce our new theme: pop music.

The students had a great time impersonating their favorite pop artists! Each class chose a few songs to sing in front of the student body, and many groups added a flare of character. 

Upcoming Activities

Hike Stewart Falls

Join us this Friday for a second try hiking to one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Utah. Since it rained so much last week, we have rescheduled the hike for this Friday. Meet at Nomen Global at 1 pm to ride up to Sundance Resort together.

To learn more about Nomen Global and the activities we offer, visit our website or 'like' us on Facebook.

Grammar Guide: Noun Clauses with Question Words

Stewart Falls is one of the most popular hiking destinations in Utah. This 200-foot, two-tiered waterfall sits at the end of an hour-long hike from Sundance Resort. It is nestled among lush, green trails in the spring and summer months with cool, refreshing water coming from the snow-capped mountains. This hike is a favorite among Utah residents and visitors because it is easy to reach and has a rewarding destination.

Noun Clauses
Just as adverb and adjective clauses contain a subject and a verb, noun clauses are also a group of words that contain a subject and a verb. The entire clause acts as a noun, which could take the place of a subject, direct object, predicate adjective, object of the preposition, or indirect object. Noun clauses can begin in a variety of ways, but we will look at question words, or wh- words, today: who, whom, whose, what, when, where, why, which, and how.

• Whoever wants to come hiking should meet at the school at 1 p.m.
• Do you know what a waterfall is?
• Spencer told the students where to drive to find the trail.
• Sometimes we didn't know which way to go.
• The students didn't realize how beautiful the waterfall was.

Notice the word order in these clauses (subject + verb). Although these clauses begin with a question word, DO NOT use question word order! Questions have an auxiliary verb before the subject, but these clauses are not asking questions. These clauses show the subject first, then the verb second. 

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Student Spotlight: Karen Margarita Castro Cano

Karen Margarita Castro Cano is originally from Colombia. She is very proud of her country! Karen has been studying at Nomen Global for two months, but she will continue to study until July. Karen is currently enrolled in TOEFL Preparation in order to prepare for a US university. She hopes that higher education will pave the way for a better future.

Karen has enjoyed her time at Nomen Global so far. She enjoys the teachers and the programs available for her needs. Of all her accomplishments, Karen is most proud to be completely independent! She funds her own education without help from her parents. She still has many goals for her life: go to a university, learn English perfectly, go back to Colombia to get a good job, get married, and have five children! Good luck, Karen!

In her free time, Karen enjoys watching TV and movies. She loves arroz con coco (coconut rice), patacones (plantains), and beef with peach salsa. Yum! The most important thing to Karen is her family and her beliefs. She is a great person with perseverance and responsibility!

Meet Karen and other great students like her at Nomen Global!

Rooftop Concert Series

Summer in Provo is full of fun activities. One of our favorite free activities is the summer Rooftop Concert Series hosted by Provo City. The concert is held one time each month on the roof of the parking garage in the Provo City Center. Each month features a different aspiring artist, food stands, and lots of local friends! Take a look at some of the pictures we took at last week's concert.

Upcoming Activities

Hike Stewart Falls

One of the most popular waterfalls in the Wasatch mountains is Stewart Falls. The hike to the falls is relatively simple, but is breathtakingly beautiful in the early summer months. The lush, green scenery meets a 200-foot, two-tiered waterfall after an hour-long hike. 

To learn more about Nomen Global, visit our website. To see more about our activities, visit our Facebook page.

Grammar Guide: Adjective Clauses

Mother's Day is always the second Sunday in the month of May in the United States. Mother's Day is unique because it doesn't celebrate a particular event in history or one person like other holidays do; it celebrates mothers from all different backgrounds. Popular traditions include ways to show Mom that you love her: flowers or gifts, breakfast in bed, cards, and nice restaurant dinners. Many people in the United States consider Mother's Day one of the biggest holidays after Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Valentine's Day.

Adjective Clauses
Similar to how adverb clauses function as adverbs, adjective clauses function as adjectives. An adjective modifies, or describes, a noun or pronoun. Adjectives answer the questions which one, what kind, and how many. These clauses do not begin with subordinating conjunctions as adverb clauses do, but they begin with relative pronouns. Relative pronouns are who, whom, whose, that, which, what, when, where, and why.

• My mother, who lives in Texas, is a caring and kind woman.
• My father, whom my mother loves, is buying her a new car for Mother's Day.
• My mother has wanted a new car that has automatic transmission for many years.
• I remember the time when she gave up a new car so that we could go on vacation together.
• Our family went to a place where we could swim and play together.
• My mother, whose food is always delicious, made us wonderful lunches and dinners that weekend.

Notice that in these examples, sometimes commas are present. We use commas with adjective clauses if the information is not necessary. Since I have only one mother, I do not need extra information to identify her. The car that she wants, however, needs the extra information to distinguish it from other cars. In these cases, do not use commas.

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Student Spotlight: Guillermo Olguin

Guillermo Olguin is from Mexico. He is one of our newest students in Level 1. Although Guillermo knew almost no English when he started at Nomen Global one month ago, he is already making a lot of friends and improving his English in and out of class. Guillermo will study here for another 8 months before he returns to Mexico. After Guillermo learns English, he hopes to finish his bachelor's degree and get a better job in Mexico.

While he has been here, Guillermo has really enjoyed learning about the other students and their cultures. Nomen Global is lucky to have around 30 different countries represented by all of its students! In addition to learning about other cultures, Guillermo loves to play soccer and to travel. He also loves Mexican food (of course)!

The most important thing to Guillermo is his family. He also hopes to have great friends all his life and play on a soccer team in the future. Guillermo is a great person and makes all of his classes really fun!

Meet Guillermo and other fun students like him at Nomen Global!

Exciting Life Events

What are some of your most memorable life events? For Nomen Global students, the answers were different! For our Monday Activity, we wrote, performed, and filmed depictions of our most memorable life events: a wedding, a birth, the first day of school, and a funeral. Click on the videos to see our students in action!

Wedding

Birth

First Day of School

Funeral

To learn more about Nomen Global, visit our website or 'like' us on Facebook.

Grammar Guide: Adverb Clauses of Condition

"May the force be with you." This popular phrase comes from the world-famous Star Wars movies. However, to celebrate Star Wars Day on May 4, fans have tweaked the phrase to "May the fourth be with you." Star Wars was created by George Lucas in the late 1970s. The saga, consisting of 6 films, began with the fourth episode. Since then, Star Wars has hooked a loyal fan base and a legacy in science fiction.

Adverb Clauses of Condition
These adverb clauses show that the ideas expressed in the result clause (or independent clause) are possible in certain circumstances. We use the subordinating conjunctions if, even if, only if, unless, whether or not, in case to express these conditions.

• We are going to watch Star Wars tonight whether or not you have already seen it.
• If Luke Skywalker did not have the Force, he would not be able to use Jedi mind tricks.
• Unless Han Solo tells Princess Leia that he loves her, she will not wait for him after he is cryogenically frozen.

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Student Spotlight: Valeria Sepulveda

Valeria Sepulveda may be the next big rock star from Chile. She loves to play the drums with her band. If you are lucky, you may even get to see her perform at local concerts in the area! In addition to being extremely talented in music, Valeria is also talented in her English skills.

Val has been studying at Nomen Global for almost seven months. She will continue to study until she has a chance to pass the TOEFL. She's currently enrolled in TOEFL Preparation and excels in her studies. Although she is already proficient in many ways, Val is interested in improving her English because she understands that her opportunities will be better in the future (and because she loves the language)! She enjoys all aspects of Nomen Global: the teachers, the students, her classmates, the classes, and the activities. After Val finishes with Nomen Global, she hopes to transfer to another school to continue to learn and improve in her music studies.

Among Val's greatest accomplishments are graduating from college in Chile, winning a Battle of the Bands on TV in Chile, and going on tour with her band. In the future, Val would love to feel more fulfilled as a drummer, have a family, and continue to be happy. Besides drums and music, Val also loves sports, all kinds of food, and her family and friends.

Meet Valeria and other out-going students like her at Nomen Global!

International Food

What is your favorite type of international food? Well, if you don't know, you need to meet some of the students at Nomen Global, who made their favorite dishes from their countries last week. 

For our Monday Activity, we started the day by learning to appreciate different countries and cultures. We each brought a dish from our home country: Mexico, Brazil, Japan, Taiwan, Chile, and many more. We introduced the dish we brought, as well as where it came from.

To learn more about the activities at Nomen Global, visit our website or 'like' us on Facebook.

Grammar Guide: Adverb Clauses of Direct Contrast

Summer at Nomen Global is always an adventure. Many students study short-term rather than a full semester. We attend many holiday festivities around the city together, such as Freedom Days, and travel to a high-adventure activity, such as white-water rafting. Although there are fewer students in the summer, we have a lot of fun!

Adverb Clauses of Direct Contrast
These adverb clauses indicate that the two expressed ideas are in direct contrast. Different from adverb clauses of unexpected result, these clauses simply show opposite ideas. We use the subordinating conjunction while to show this contrast.

• While many summer students study short-term, other students study for longer than one semester.
• While we attend many activities in the city, we also spend time in nature.
• While it is true that many students love the summer in Provo, other students miss the snow.

In these sentences, we notice that the two expressed ideas are in direct contract to each other. 

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Teacher Spotlight: Crystal Jewkes

Crystal Jewkes is one of the newest additions to the Nomen Global faculty, but we are thrilled to have her work with us and the students. She brings an advanced understanding of higher education to our GMAT/GRE Preparation students to help them prepare for the future.

Crystal grew up in Logan, Utah, which is one of the larger cities in Northern Utah. She has a bachelor's degree from Utah State University and a teaching degree and a Master's of Education from Southern Utah University. She has many years of experience teaching secondary education in Iron County, Utah, and she is currently a member of the Brigham Young University faculty.

Although Crystal started teaching at Nomen Global just two months ago, she already feels completely at home with the students and other faculty members. Nomen Global also recognizes her great strengths in teaching and creating a bountiful learning environment.

Crystal also loves her family and is determined to raise successful and happy kids. In her spare time, she loves to crochet, which is similar to knitting. She also plays the violin. Crystal lives by her favorite quote, which helps her be so successful: "What would you attempt to do if you know you could not fail?"

Meet Crystal and other qualified teachers like her at Nomen Global!

Nature Hike

Spring is one of our favorite seasons in Utah because we are always excited to see color after a long, white winter. How do we celebrate spring's arrival? We take a hike in nature! That's what we did for our Monday Activity last week. We drove a few minutes up Provo Canyon to the beautiful Bridal Veil Falls to explore some of what nature has to offer us. 

We started out in teams, each team with a camera and a list of items in nature. With our cameras in hand, we set out to take pictures of as many things on our list as possible: someone holding a giant rock, two people hugging on a bridge, a yellow flower, someone catching the sun, someone walking on water, someone doing a handstand in front of a waterfall, and many others!

After we took pictures of everything on our list, we got together for a group picture and enjoyed the new, warm weather. Take a look at our group!

If you want to know more about Nomen Global and our activities, visit our website or 'like' us on Facebook!